The Soviet Objective In Central America: A Scenario

May 27, 1986|By Charles C. Hurt

It appears that our august Congress is ignorant of recent history and is poised and determined to repeat a relatively recent strategic error.

When Nikita Khrushchev blinked during the famous confrontation with John F. Kennedy 25 years ago and withdrew his Cuban-based missiles, the world applauded Kennedy and breathed a collective sigh of relief. Most Americans remember the result of that confrontation as an American victory.

Was it a victory?

Let's analyze who the victor was in terms of who got what out of the conflict. The Americans got some communist missiles out of Cuba. The Soviets got a guarantee that the United States would never interfere with the Cuban government, which was and is a deadly infectious cancer. We are now reaping the harvest of that confrontation resulting in the Cuban cancer via Nicaragua. The Soviets also had the sweet secret satisfaction of winning out in Cuba over Kennedy after all.

The Soviet communists differ from Americans in several very important ways: -- The Soviets never forget anything; the Americans do well to remember major events vaguely.

-- The Soviets plan for decades; the Americans react from crisis to crisis. -- The Soviets honor a treaty or contract only so long as it serves their purpose (the 1975 Helsinki Treaty is a good example); Americans live up to treaties even when the stupidity of doing so is apparent to everyone.

-- The Soviets read Americans like an open book; many Americans are naive and very ignorant, which is sad considering the wealth of information available.

To the point: What is this major error we are about to commit?

No doubt the Soviets would like nothing better than a second communist country whose independence is guaranteed by the U.S. government.

How will this be accomplished? Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega, after some hemming and hawing, will sign a Contadoran treaty with the promise to be a good boy in the future. What will Ortega get in exchange for his absolutely worthless promise?

-- The demise of the contra forces.

-- The independence of the Nicaraguan state guaranteed by the U.S. government, which translates into the right to be a malignant cancer as Cuba is now.

-- The opportunity to subvert all the Central American countries.

-- The satisfaction of betraying all the Chamberlain-type U.S. congressmen who want ''peace in our time.''

-- A safe nest for terrorism in the Western Hemisphere.

How does that scenario fit your perception of what is going on now? Or have you even bothered to not only look but think about what's going on in Central America?